Newcastle United will reportedly be without Jonjo Shelvey for the first half of the Premier League season due to injury.
The midfielder missed the Magpies’ opening game against Forest, as he nursed a hamstring injury picked up in the friendly defeat to Benfica.
Eddie Howe stated that Shelvey was in London on Friday, and the 30-year-old has now reportedly gone under the knife.
According to the Daily Mail, Shelvey has underwent surgery on his injured hamstring. They state that he will be out of action for 12 weeks, ruling him out until November.
That means our number eight might not play a competitive game for Newcastle until December 26th due to the World Cup.
The Premier League is set to undergo an extended break this winter due to the tournament in Qatar. Newcastle face Chelsea on November 12th, then don’t have another fixture until they take on Leicester on Boxing Day.
Newcastle are therefore going to be without Shelvey for the first section of the season, which may force Eddie Howe to dip into the transfer market. And we have already asked about an ideal replacement.
Newcastle must move for Conor Gallagher
90min have reported that Newcastle are one of three clubs to ask Chelsea about Conor Gallagher’s availability. He is set to stay with the Blues for now, but that could all change.
The 22-year-old isn’t a guaranteed starter at Stamford Bridge, while there is speculation that Chelsea could sign another centre-midfielder.
That will hinder Gallagher’s hopes of going to the World Cup, having made his England debut earlier in the year.
He needs to be playing regular first-team football, and proved at Crystal Palace last year how good a player he can be in the Premier League, scoring eight goals. He was a star under Patrick Vieira, who called Gallagher ‘fantastic‘. And he knows a thing or two about midfielders…
And now Newcastle need an extra option in midfield, the pair could be a match made in heaven. His box-to-box energy would work wonderfully alongside Bruno Guimaraes’ metronomic style.
While centre-midfield wasn’t initially a position of urgency, our need has increased since Shelvey’s injury. Gallagher would be the perfect replacement, and is the kind of player who could be a long-term star at St James’ Park.
Now Shelvey is out until November, Newcastle must step up their efforts to sign Gallagher.